


Earth War Rebels

by Charm1355



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Earth, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, M/M, Mother-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 17:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15778674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charm1355/pseuds/Charm1355
Summary: Earth has been run by the empire for almost fifteen years now, and it has turned every country a bleak and depressing. Former Jedi officer in training Kanan Jarrus hops from country to country to avoid facing the same fate as his master and comrades. One day however; Kanan ends up on the depressing country of Lothal, where not only does he find old friends and new, but also finds someone who has similar abilites and skills such as himself. The only problem is that the kid is a fourteen year old street-rat who wants to keep as away from people as possible. Can Kanan help thss lonely kid find a place to belong?Note: I do not own star wars, this is for pure fun.Also i did post this on fanfiction.net, and figure why not post it here,





	1. Welcome to Lothal

**A/N: so I posted this story on fanfiction and was curious to see how people react to it here. this is a modern setting so everyone is human. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 

 

_Our story takes place on Earth, a planet with multiple different tundras from hot burning sand valleys to frozen cold terrains; countries surrounded by roaring seas and others full of multiple mountains that reach to the heavens._

_On this world, there are no multi-species aliens, no spaceships that can jump from planet to planet, and no magic sword-wielding knights. Earthlings drive cars, carry phones if they wish to communicate with one another. Advanced science such as cloning and massive nuclear weapons exists on this planet, but that is as far as Earth’s technology goes. It may seem like an ideal place to live, but its dark past has caused corruption to reign on this planet._

_One time on Earth, the world was ruled by the World Republic, where the leaders of countries such as Alderan, Tatoonie, Lothal, Ryloth, and a multitude of other countries that have made up the world since the beginning of time. This republic was kept in line thanks to the Jedi order, a specialized international police force where those shown to be gifted with an intuition none could ever quite understand would be trained to protect the world’s citizens and keep peace on Earth with their “force gene’. With the help of the Clones, specialized soldiers who genetic code consisted of following orders to fight and serve the Republic. This system worked for years until Senator Palentine entered the republic._

_Palentine, corrupted by his lust for power, went down a dark path that would cause grown men to have nightmares. B manipulating the Senate to name himself supreme Chancellor, he renamed himself, supreme Emperor. As Emperor he had the Clones turn on the Jedi, who massacred a multitude of them so they would not stand in his way. With the Clones under his control, they forcefully followed his order to enforce his laws. All countries now suffer under his dictatorship._

_The followers of his party, the imperials, ensure the high taxes are paid, that no uprising occurs in his world._

_As for the Jedi, if any are found he sends his specially trained inquisitors to terminate them._

_Earth appears to be a bleak planet to live on. With a daily threat of the troopers coming into their homes and taking not only their few possessions but themselves into custody. All seems lost. But there are a few out there who are against the Imperial reign. These rebels have something that most belief is lost to them forever; hope._

* * *

 

Kanan looked out the window of the bus he was riding. After hours of riding, he was finally there, Lothal. Though it was a bittersweet situation for Kanan to be in Lothal.

 A small country that consisted of 19 million people. The main export was once fish, but after a drought that devastated the country, the exports turned into whatever farms could grow on the land, and the imperial weaponry that the Empire had built in Lothal kept few in business.

Kanan just sighed as he looked out the window to see the countryside of the country he decided to call home, for now. The grass was an unhealthy brown color that no farm animals would touch, pillars of boulders were scattered across the land, like a multitude of sculpture that showed some landscape for the flatlands.

Kanan was not the bit surprised, he had heard that Lothal was the pit of the outer countries, but actually looking at it up close from his seat on the bus made him more depressed about his situation.

Yet again he was heading to another country to hide from his past, his shame. Kanan had lost count of the countries he has been to, but he is sure he must have set a record of some kind. The life on the run had the same routine; go to a country, get a job that pays a reasonable amount, and stays under the radar until it was time to move to avoid being noticed.

Kanan was reaching Capitol City, and the site made Kanan feel uneasy, every mile into the city was littered with Troopers, citizens looking away from them out of fear of the possible repercussions.

 The city while huge was so littered the sidewalk was barely there. The citizens who should be in a hurry and happy with where they were going were slow and look liked they had the life sucked out of them (the Imperials there was the next worst thing).

“Welcome to the Capitol City of Lothal,” said the too cheerful the bus driver, taking Kanan away from his gloomy thoughts.

Kanan like the rest of the citizens on the bus got their bags and got off at the station. Kanan carried his duffle off and got off. Wondering if he would even last a week in Lothal.

He didn’t know what to expect; the city smelled like any other city, the noise was relatively loud. I guess he kind of hoped the country might offer him something else, something different. Kanan was lost in his thoughts of despair.

What Kanan didn’t expect though was being run down by some punk kid.

As Kanan fell, he was able to catch himself on his hands, the wind being half knocked out of him. Kanan guessed he hadn’t been practicing his training for some time.

“Oops, sorry mister,” said the voice of some kid, the one who ran into him, “I didn’t see you there.” The lad took Kanan’s arm to help him up. Kanan didn’t even get a good look at his face, only his dark blue tinted hair before the kid ran off.

_“That was…”_ Kanan was thinking how weird and rude the kid was when he reached for his duffle bag before he realized what had happened.  
“What a sec!” Kanan took off to where the kid ran off to. He had a hard time noticing him, but out of the corner in his eye, he saw the fast blue haired brat.

“KID!” Kanan yelled as he ran after him. But the supposed kid was faster as he weaved around the cluttered citizens with ease. The boy finally turned into an alleyway. As Kanan turned into it to corner the kid, he couldn’t find him. But he did notice his wallet on the ground.

Kanan was pissed. Less than five minutes in this outer country and he had been robbed by some punk like he used to do. Kanan’s anger though turned to surprise though. When he looked into his wallet, only five of his fifty credits were gone. Even his credit and debit card were there.

_“Who is he?”_ Kanan thought to himself. Because whoever he was, he wasn’t your typical pickpocket.

His first five minutes in the city and already something happened. Most would take getting pickpocketed as a bad omen. Kanan though couldn’t help but feel something when the kid ran off, something familiar. Whatever it was, Kanan knew he had to stick around, just for a bit to see if it was a good or bad thing in this country. one thing he could already tell about Lothal; it was bound to be interesting.

* * *

 

**A/N: so that wraps up the first chapter.  I hope you all liked it and let me know what you all thought of it in the comment. until then**


	2. Chapter 2

Kanan spends one night in the city in a crappy motel at the center of all the bright city lights and loud honking cars. Needless to say, Kanan got very little sleep on his first night in Lothal. Amongst Kanan’s tossing and turning, he decided he needed to find somewhere outside of the city. Away from the loud noise, away from the smell of rotting garbage., and most importantly away from all the people.

The next day he made his way to a realtor office. There Kanan talked to a nice realtor by the name of Owen.

Kanan told him what he wanted “I just need somewhere outside of the city that won’t cost too much.” The realtor smiled kindly to Kanan.

After about five minutes the two rode out in the man’s truck to the fields outside the city. In the field stood about a dozen bungalows about a couple miles apart. The one Owen brought Kanan to was a gray color, showing some signs that it had been empty for quite some time. Kanan didn’t care about the condition of the house, all Kanan really cared about was space.

“It was part of a homing project, but only a few houses were ever built. This one is only one story if you don’t include the basement. Rent here is only $650, includes all utilities. It isn’t much but you can have your preferred view of the city.”

Kanan smiled, all he really could see was the outline of the capitol. Kanan smiled.

“It’s perfect.”

Kanan signed the lease and put down the deposit for the rental rights to the house.

Kanan really didn’t have much to move in. All he really had was in his duffle. Fortunately, the last people who rented the house left their hand-me-down furniture there. They were all covered in dust and some needs of repair Kanan would get to that tomorrow. Kanan crashed onto the worn out couch that night, able to finally get some sleep.

* * *

The next morning Kanan got up rather early to clean up his new place and then go into town to go look for any job opening. As Kanan began cleaning the couch though he began thinking of what possible job he should have in Lothal.

Since the Order fell, Kanan had experience with numerous jobs. Kanan has been a little bit of everything. From a bartender a few times, a cargo pilot twice, and even a patrol officer. Of all the jobs though, Kanan’s primary mode of income was with the career of a bounty hunter. Since he was on Kaller, being a bounty hunter seemed to be Kanan’s specialty. It was like he was a Jedi; catching no good low-life and handing them into imperial authorities. Though the idea of the Empire made him sick, they at least paid well. Kanan though knew that Lothal had a lot of criminals, but none with a high enough bounty to pay for the bills.

Kanan was thinking of some other job options when he heard the floorboards on his porch creek.

Kanan took a knife from the kitchen and slowly approached the open door he heard the creaking again come from the left side, he jumped to attack to see no one; at least not till he looked down and he saw a cat.

The cat was a rusty copper color and seemed to be older than Jedi Officer Yoda. The cat seemed to be miffed because he was giving Kanan the death stare.

Kanan stared at it for a bit, “Umm, hi.” It was all Kanan could say. This, however, seemed to be the wrong words cause the cat then hissed at Kanan, taking Kanan back a bit.

“Chopper, stay away from the new guy.” Called a woman’s voice. The cat, Chopper then leaped off the porch and trotted up to the owner of the voice. Kanan turned and saw the women was actually a young girl who could be no older than fifteen holding a container. The girl was relatively tall and had a tan skin. What made this girl noticeable though was that her hair was cut short with the top blue and the ends orange. Her outfit was a pink aware tie-dye, that Kanan was sure she had expertly done herself.

The girl smiled politely smiled, “Sorry about Chopper, he doesn’t take well to strangers; especially where he normally hangs out. To him everywhere is his turf. But he won’t hurt anyone, he is just a gentle grouchy hairball.”

“Umm okay,” Kanan replied, a little confused as to why she was here.

The girl seemed to notice this and quickly realized her mistake, “Oh, right, sorry, I am super bad at introductions. I’m Sabine Wren, my mom and I are your new neighbors.”

“Neighbors?” Kanan asked, now very confused, “I thought the closest neighbor was that house.” Kanan then pointed to the just barely recognizable image of a house at least 5 kilometers away.

Sabine smiled and giggled, “Yup that’s our house, ergo we’re neighbors. Which is why I brought you this.” Sabine then handed Kanan the container she was holding. Upon closer inspection, Kanan found the item to be yellow and orange inside.

“Mac and Cheese,” Kanan said smiling, actually happy with the cooked surprise.

“My mom made it this morning before she left for work and asked me to bring it over to welcome you,” Sabine told Kanan.

“Wow your mom must trust you a lot to bring mac and cheese over to a stranger,” Kanan said, a little surprised.

“Well, I can take care of myself when I have to,” Sabine replied with a sly smile.

“While I appreciate the dish shouldn’t you be in school?” Kanan asked, knowing it was almost noontime on a weekday.

Sabine continued to smile, “Let’s just say I got excused early, by myself.”

Kanan could help but laugh, as did Sabine.

Well, it’s a long trek back to your house, why don’t you and Chopper chill on the porch for a bit.” Kanan offered.

Sabine shrugged her shoulders and smiled at the offer. “Cool.”

While Sabine and Chopper made themselves comfortable on the porch, Kanan went to the kitchen to get some lemonade (and milk for Chopper).

“So what made you move to Capitol City?” Sabine asked as Kanan handed her a lemonade.

Kanan sat down and told her, “I needed a change and I decided to see what Lothal has to offer.”

This caused Sabine to laugh a bit until she saw the serious tone on Kanan’s face.

“Oh.”

The two were quiet for a bit till Kanan spoke up, “Yeah, I’ve been around to some different countries, though I would make Lothal my next stop.”

“So what are you going to do here?” Sabine asked

Kanan just shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t really know. I’ve been thinking of positions to apply for. Do you happen to have any ideas?”

Sabine thought about it for a bit, “Well… how do you feel about the Empire”  
Kanan just stared at her like she had two heads,

“Yeah, my mom and I hate them too. So I guess you would be against the idea of applying to be an imperial police officer?” Sabine asked hesitantly.

“Seriously?” Kanan was surprised by the idea. Not only because he was the furthest thing away from the imperial worker, but because he did have the criteria for it when he worked as a patrol officer. He even remembered when Hera had helped him forge the paperwork to apply for the position.

_“Hera...”_ Kanan then remembered bitterly of that women.  
“Kanan?” Sabine soon got the attention back to the topic they were talking about.

“Why would the Empire hire off the streets, don’t they have specially trained people for that?” Kanan asked.

“This might surprise you but not a lot of people want to work for the empire.” Sabine pointed out, “They have been looking for anyone qualified to apply, hence they have obvious job openings. My mom and I are friends with a guy who works there and he hates the Empire. Besides, it’s a job that pays pretty decent.”

“Well, I am qualified…” Kanan points offhandedly, “I’ll think about it.”

“Cool.” Sabine smiled gleefully, “Hey what time is it?”

Kanan looked at his watch and told her it was almost one.

“Huh, well I better get home soon. Thank for the lemonade Mr. Kanan.”

Kanan smiled, “Just Kanan, but why do you have to hurry, I thought your mother was at work?”  
Sabine smiled wickedly, “She is, but the school is going to call the house soon to see where I am and I need to pretend to be my mom, bye” and with that Sabine ran back in the direction of her house, followed by the grumpy old cat.

Kanan giggled a bit, He remembered being rebellious at that age. He just hoped Sabine’s mother could handle her.

Kanan also thought over Sabine’s suggestion.

“Why not?” Kanan told himself as he got up to go apply for a job with the empire, though the idea made his stomach turn.

 

* * *

 

When Kanan finally found the LIPD (Lothal’s Imperial Police Department), he went inside and asked the front desk if he could have a job application, however as soon as he asked, the secretary told him to go to the Commissioner’s Office.

Kanan was a little nervous, He already was not looking forward to the idea of working with people who actually supported the Empire, but now he was meeting the head of them. Not to mention he was nowhere prepared for an interview right that second.

Kanan took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

“Enter,” called a muffled but serious toned voice.

Kanan did so, only to enter a dark room with only a lightbulb above showing him there was a desk and a chair turned away, only a dark silhouette showed the top of someone in the chair.

“Um hello, my name is-,”

“I know your name Mr. Jarrus.” Replied the serious toned women in the chair

This took Kanan back a bit before the voice spoke again, “The Secretary told me your name.”

The chair then turned around, showing the silhouette of a tall human in the chair.

“I am Commissioner Fulcrum, head of not only Capitol Cities IPD, but Lothal’s Imperial Police Force as well. I understand you are looking for a job as an officer.”

Kanan had to gulp a bit before he could reply. “Yes, I heard you were hiring and-,”

“Your Resume.” Fulcrums dark tone asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Kanan managed to mutter out as he handed the Commissioner the file of his past employment and “documentation”.

“I must admit; you have quite the resume here; there is a lot of variety in your capabilities. Freighter Pilot, Ranger, I see you were an officer on Garel. Is it true you turned in Jabba Hutts second in Command?” Fulcrum tone of serious soon turned into an impressive tone.”

“Yes sir, I have the contact for the officer I turned him over too.” Kanan began to be able to breathe regularly. Something about impressing this Commissioner helped him relax a bit about the interview.

The commissioner closed the files and slid it across the desk back to Kanan.

Fulcrum’s silhouette placed their webbed hands under the chin before the commissioner asked, “so tell me Mr. Jarrus, why do you want to work for the LIPD?”

Kanan did not know how to answer the question at first. For some reason though, perhaps the slightest hint of his force instinct, told him to be honest.

“I’m not going to lie commissioner; I just moved to town, and I am in need of a job. I actually heard of you all hiring and I figured ‘why not.’

The room was silent for a bit. Kanan was two second from leaving the office in case the imperial commissioner screamed. To his surprise though, Fulcrum giggled a bit.

“I like you,” Fulcrum told Kanan, “any other punk who would have come in here would have given me some bull on wanting to serve the Empire.

“I’ll tell you what, I will hire you. You will be supervised not only the offices second in Command, but your new partner will also give me a report on your work. You will meet with the second in Command agent Kallus in the morning. You will meet your new partner Zeb when he reports back from his patrol soon; Zeb will show you the ropes to this job. Am I understood?”

Kanan was almost speechless until The commissioner asked again as a dark gloved hand appeared in the light of the office.

“Yes, thank you” Kanan replied as he shook the thin yet firmly gripped hand.

“Welcome to the LIPD.” Fulcrum replied, and Kanan could have sworn he saw the commissioner smile at him.

* * *

 

After Fulcrum officially gave Kanan the job, Fulcrum told Kanan to head to the officer’s lounge. Apparently, his new partner was to meet him ihere in a few minutes.

Kanan had to admit, while he hated the idea of working for the Empire, apart of him was relieved. While Kanan did have some money saved up, his mind was now at ease with having a regular income while in Lothal.

Kanan was looking out the window out into the city when his senses told him something was coming.

Kanan’s instincts reacted, and he grabbed his gun from his holster to point it at the oncoming threat. Only to find the supposed, ‘threat’ was a fellow officer.

“Woah, easy their mate; you’re not even on patrols yet.” Pointed out the man, with his hands up mid-way and surprisingly smiling at Kanan.

The man was huge, having at least a foot on Kanan, and seemed to have the muscle to break Kanan in two. While the man lacked hair on the top, he had quite the goatee that was just as long as Kanan’s own ponytail. What really threw Kanan off was how one of his ears was pointed a bit, signs of someone of another ethnicity.

After about a few seconds Kanan dropped his gun, “Um, sorry about that. Guess I’m a little jumpy.”

The giant man did not seem bothered by Kanan’s actions, in fact, he seemed amused by it.

“Hey it happens on the first day, don’t worry bub, that’s why I’ll help you learn the ropes.”

Kanan was shocked, “Wait, your Garazeb?”

“Just call me Zeb, everyone does. You must be my new partner Fulcrum told me about.”

“Um yeah, I’m Kanan,” Kanan told Zeb as he stretched out his hand, only for his to be crushed by the older man’s giant hand.

“Great to meet you,” Zeb replied happily as he got to his own locker to put away his own equipment for the day. “Hope you last longer than my last partner. Only was here for a month before he bailed.”

 “So how long have you worked here?” Kanan asked, wondering how long Zeb has been working for the Empire.

“Started working here about six months after I moved here, so almost three years,” Zeb responded, though the tone in his voice showed no pride in his career.

“What about you, what made you want to work for LIPD?” Zeb asked.

“I just moved here yesterday and needed a job,” Kanan replied simply.

Wow, you really are new!” Zeb pointed out, a little surprised. “I must say I am a little impressed.

Fulcrum normally doesn’t touch newbies unless they can prove they have lived here for a few months.”

Kanan chuckled a little before he replied, “Guess I’m just special.”

Zeb chuckled as well before he came up with an idea. “Tell you what, tonight why don’t I take you to Jho’s Bar. It is a great place to eat. Actually, it’s the only place to eat in Capitol City. But it still is the best place to go. Also, we can get to know each other before we hit patrols.”

“I don’t know…” Kanan was a little skeptical about getting to know the locals; it makes it that much harder for when he has to leave.

“Come on. The football game is on tonight at the bar, and some beer potatoes skins are great to mellow after a long day.”

Kanan hated to admit it, but a beer did sound good.

“huh, alright, you talked me into it.” Kanan agreed.

“Cool, I’ll go change out of uniform, and I’ll meet you up front.” With that Zeb left the lounge to the locker room.

Kanan made his way to the front door.

_“I can’t believe I’m doing this: it’s just going to make things harder.”_ Kanan thought to himself.

Kanan’s time on the run from one country to another has taught him one thing; don’t get too close to others. Eventually, when he has to leave, it just makes things harder when he inevitably has to leave. Kanan had learned that lesson the hard way.

Kanan tried to block her out. That was the second time in one day Kanan had thought of Hera again. Normally it was only once a day.

“You ready?” Zeb asked as he came out in his casual clothes.

“Sure,” Kanan replied.

“The bar is only a couple blocks over, we can pick up our vehicles later.” Zeb pointed out.

“You can,” Kanan pointed out, “That’s the next thing on my to-do list; get a car.”

“Unless you live outside of town then a car wouldn’t really matter.” Zeb pointed out.

Zeb then noticed Kanan staring at him and got the message

Zeb laughed a bit before he gave Kanan a solution “I know someone who might be willing to sell you their old car. She said she doesn’t drive it much anymore anyway with her new car. I’ll talk to her about it.” Zeb pointed out.

“Thank Zeb, but you don’t have to go to the trouble.” Kanan told Zeb.

“Here’s the thing mate, if we are going to go on patrols and work together, we need have each other’s backs. In and out of the office.” Zeb explained.

“So basically you’re going help me rather I like it or not.” Kanan casually said with a smile on his face.

“Pretty much” Zeb replied as he punched Kanan’s shoulder playfully. Kanan though was sure he was going to wake up with a bruise in the morning. Kanan smiled none the less.

Shortly the two ended up at Jho’s Bar, or technically speaking, ‘Old, Jho’s Pit Stop Bar & Grill’. The outside wasn’t too fancy. In fact, if it wasn’t for the light up sign and awning Kanan could have sworn it was one of the condemned buildings that surrounded the gray building. What caught Kanan’s eye about the place though was the sign-up front that said ‘serves all’.

Once inside, Kanan found the bar to be so-so. The place had tables and booths that were sturdy, the walls seemed to be of places and groups in Lothal, and instead of reeking of vomit and booze it actually smelt like food was cooking. So far Jho’s was better than any of the bars Kanan had worked at.

Kanan followed Zeb to the booth, where they could see the TV better for the game.

“Hey Zeb, who’s your new friend?” asked a dark tanned tall man whose eyes were a little too far apart.

“Jho, this is my new partner, Kanan. Kanan, this is Jho.” Zeb introduced the two.

Jho looked at Kanan suspiciously before Zeb pointed out, “He’s cool.”

Jho then shrugged his shoulders and got out a pad, “What can I get you guys?”

“I’ll have a bottle of the usual and a burger,” Zeb ordered.

“You?” Jho asked Kanan.

“Umm, I’ll just have the same as him,” Kanan said, nodding his head towards Zeb.

“On it,” Jho said before heading to the kitchen to place the orders.

Soon Kanan and Zeb were watching the game playing on tv and having some beer. Once the game hit halftime, their burgers came out, and frankly, they were pretty good to Kanan.

“So, how have you been enjoying the city?” Zeb asked in between bites.

“Well, within the first five minutes in the city, I got pickpocketed,” Kanan admitted.

Zeb laughed at this and advised, “you should keep your wallet in a bag.”

“I did,” Kanan pointed out, “The kid ran into me, helped me up, and by the time I realized what happened he ran off.”

Zeb was silent for a bit before he asked, “What did the kid look like?”

“Um short, small, dark hair, old orange hoodie… that’s about it. Oh, he only took five credits.” Kanan recalled.

Zeb was silent a bit, almost like he was seriously thinking. Suddenly he began to chuckle a bit before he jokingly pointed out, “good thing fulcrum didn’t know, you might still be unemployed.”

Kanan let Zeb laugh at his own joke before he continued,

“So I guess you could say that was the reason why I decided to rent a house outside the city.”

Zeb then lite up, “you probably live near that friend I was telling you about earlier; the one with the car.

“Maybe,” Kanan said to be nice, “Who’s your friend, I could see them before work about the car?”

Just then the two heard the door open, Zeb turned and smiled, “You can meet her now. Hey Hera.” Zeb hollered.

At that moment Kanan’s heart stopped, cause just as he turned, he saw her. Despite not seeing each other for over five years, he could recognize her beauty anywhere.

Hera was slender, her skin was dark, which made her emerald green eyes shining like stars. Her micro braids were pulled back and up into two pig-tails. Hera was smiling at Zeb as she hugged him. Kanan missed seeing that smile.

“Zeb, what are you up to?” Hera asked, still not noticing Kanan yet.

“I was actually talking about the Phantom to my new partner.” Zeb then moved so Hera could see Kanan.

Shock appeared on her face. That only lasted for a second when suddenly pure delight appeared on her face.

“Kanan,” Hera said, just as shock as Kanan was.

“Hera,” was all Kanan could mutter.

Hera then did something unexpected; she hugged him.

“It’s so good to see you,” Hera replied happily,

For a second, Kanan hesitated, but that only lasted for a moment. Kanan couldn’t help but smile.

“Wait, you to know each other?” Zeb asked surprisingly shocked.

“Yes,” Hera admitted, “Kanan and I worked with each other in Gorse. But that was a lifetime ago.”

Kanan and Hera just looked into each other’s eyes. It was only for a few seconds as Kanan, realizing what was happening again, decided to change the topic.

“Um, so…what are you doing in Lothal?” Kanan asked.

“I’m a commercial pilot. I fly my plane to pick up imports.” Hera revealed gleefully.

“Are you still flying the Ghost?” Kanan asked.

“I am,” Hera confirmed.

“Man, I would have thought you would have retired it by now,” Kanan admitted. He had forgotten how at ease he felt with her.

“The only way I’m junking the Ghost if it is shot down,” Hera said.

This caused the two to laugh. It felt good to Kanan, he had forgotten how she always made him smile.

“So, Zeb said you guys were talking about the Phantom?” Hera asked

Kanan, hesitating a bit was saved by Zeb.

“Yeah, Kanan just moved to town and is looking for a car to get him to and from work.”

Hera gently smiled to Kanan, “Well, tell you what; why don’t you come over to my house on Friday for a test drive, and if you like it, I can give you a decent price.” Hera offered.

“Yeah, that would be great.” Kanan beamed. Maybe this was his second chance.

“So, where’s your little girl at? Haven’t seen that daughter of yours lately?” Zeb asked.

And just like that Kanan’s heart shattered.

Hera didn’t seem to notice as she responded to Zeb’s question.

“Oh, she’s at the house working on a project for school. She is why I came in; I worked late today and ordered some buffalo chicken wraps for us for dinner.”

Just as soon as Hera was done the explaining, Jho came out with a bag and handed it to Hera.

“Thank Jho,” Hera said

“I’ll see you on Saturday Zeb. Kanan, I will see you Friday.” Hera told them as she wrote down something on a piece of paper and handed it to Kanan.

Hera then smiled to Kanan, “I’m really happy to see you again.” She then pecked Kanan on the cheek and left.

Kanan had goosebumps, which only made Kanan’s heart sink.

Zeb then laughed at padded Kanan on the back. “Wow, not in town for two days, and you already caught someone’s eye.”

“What are you talking about?” Kanan asked bitterly

“I’ve known Hera since I got here and I have not seen her look at a guy like she just looked at you.” Zeb pointed out happily.

“But she shouldn’t be looking at guys like that,” Kanan argued, causing him to guzzle down the rest of his beer.

“What are you talking…” Zeb then got it and began belching out laughing.  
“What’s so funny?” Kanan asked in anger almost ready to punch him.

“Mate, Hera isn’t married.” Zeb clarified.

Kanan was a little shocked. “But, her daughter?”

Zeb chuckled a bit, “Sabine is adopted. Hera adopted Sabine when she was ten. Girl just turned sixteen.

Just like that, Kanan’s heart was filled with joy; he really did have a second chance.

Kanan then just realized something, “Wait, Sabine; rainbow-dyed hair, has a cat named Chopper?” Kanan asked Zeb for assurance.

“Yup that’s Sabine, and the cat” Zeb confirmed while he shuttered at the thought of Chopper, “So you already met her?” Zeb asked.

“Yeah, she brought me a dish made by her mom” Kanan said before he face-palmed himself.

“Mac and Cheese; Hera loved the stuff. I should have known it was hers.”

Both men shared a laugh, both finding it hilarious how foolish Kanan was.

Suddenly Police sirens were heard going off outside the bar.

Kanan and Zeb on instinct when outside. Outside, the two found one police car outside.

Two officers Kanan had not met yet, one thing as a broom and the other big enough to eat the other, were in front of the car.

“Aresko, Grint, what’s going on?” Zeb asked

“Officer Zeb, we were on patrols when he noticed a young male damaging the lock on that dumpster.” The thin one pointed out to Zeb as his hands indicated towards the dumpster, that didn’t have a lock on it.

“The suspect went down the alleyways, we will pursue him.” The bigger one pointed out,

“I’ll go with you. More ground.” Zeb offered.

“Fine. Let’s move before we lose him” The thin one replied. The two then went down the alleyway.

“I’ll explain later.” Zeb pointed out as Zeb then went down the end of the alleyway.

Kanan, really not want to do nothing, decided to look at the dumpster. The only odd thing about it was that the dumpster didn’t appear damaged. In fact, it didn’t even have a lock on it.”

“weird,” Kanan muttered to himself when suddenly Kanan’s senses kicked in. Someone was still in the alley.

Kanan carefully moves down the alleyway, his hand hovering over the holster just in case. As Kanan got to the end of the alley, he looked down left the other alley where Zeb and the officers turned down. Just then out of the corner of his eye, Kanan spotted a shadow bolting down the other alleyway.

“FREEZE!” Kanan yelled as he ran towards the figure who was now bolting down the alleys with a bag in his hand.

Kanan chased the small figure down the labyrinth of alleyways. Kanan had to give the punk credit, he was quick, all he could make out of the punk was his old brown shoes.

Something about this chase felt familiar. Kanan though was too focused on the chase to fully notice.

Kanan then saw he had chased the punk into a dead end. Kanan knew he had him. Or so he thought.

The short punk jumped onto a garbage can, kicked himself off the near wall, reached up and grabbed the fire escape ladder on the other wall and climbed up.

Kanan, not wanting to be upstaged by some punk criminal, did the exact same thing. Kanan though did not take into account his weight and as he jumped onto the old rusty ladder, it broke off the rest of the fire escape, sending Kanan hard to the ground.

“Ouch,” Kanan painfully let out. The ladder was now pinned on him. He tried to get it off, but it was too heavy, and the added weight was making it hard for him to breath.

Kanan was surprised when the ladder was getting lighter as he pushed it off. It was then to his surprise that he found the punk he had just chased, was helping him get the ladder off.

When the ladder was off, Kanan regained his composure when he heard an annoyed but concerned voice ask him, “Hey mister, you okay?”

Not only did he notice the voice was young, but it was familiar too.

“You.” Kanan pointed out, as he looked up and got a good look at the kid who took his five credits.

The kid was frozen for a few seconds. Kanan then finally got a better look at the kid. The boy who could only be in his early teens was very scrawny and looked like he hadn’t bathed in months. The kid was looking at Kanan with big blue eyes, like was worried about Kanan.

Just then the kid reached for the ladder, put up against the wall, climbed up, and went back up the fire escape to the multitude of clustered roofs he could go to.

Kanan was too shocked to follow him, he was too sore to follow him.

“Who is that kid?” Kanan asked himself. Not realizing that very boy, Ezra, was thinking the same thing about him.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know it is a little long, but that's how it is. Also to clarify, yes Hera is black, and Zeb is a native Australian. Jho is also Hispanic. the next few chapters will focus a little bit more on Ezra. I am super pumped with how I'm going to work this story and hope you all do too.


	3. Who Is He?

After jumping from one roof to the next for what felt like hours, Ezra finally told himself he was far enough from that man. Ezra was panting to catch his breath as he stopped, his throat sore from thirst; His legs were burning as he looked behind him, making sure there was no way that man had found a way to the roofs.

 _“Who is he?”_ Ezra asked himself in frustration. Ezra recognized him as the man who “donated” him five credits. The worst part was Ezra also knew that the man recognized him from that day; after all, Ezra was still wearing the torn up orange jacket from that day (it was really the only warm clothes he had). What really aggravated Ezra was that the man was able to find him. Ezra knew he hadn’t made a noise as he bolted, yet somehow ponytail guy knew he was there. So when Ezra helped get the ladder off the poor sap, he was surprised when he looked in the man’s eyes. There was something about him. Almost like…?

“No,” he told himself firmly, “my gut might be right sometimes, but I’ not about to trust some ponytailed cowboy.”

Ezra then recalling why the man was chasing him, checked the contents of the bag he picked up next to the dumpster at Jho’s.

“Jackpot” Ezra smiled gleefully. In the bag with some bottles, he could get some cents from were some fries that were still warm and a takeout box with a whole wrap inside.  Ezra could tell he was drooling, he hadn’t eaten for almost two days, he had to avoid the city in case that man had gone to the police. Ezra though knew he had to wait, despite his roaring stomachs protest; he needed to get back to his tower where it was safe. Even if that guy hadn’t chased him, good chance muttonchops will send his cronies to hunt him down. So as quickly as his trembling hands could, he put the plastic bag in his backpack before continuing his free run to the outskirts of the city.

Still, a part of him did wonder about the man, and if the punk was okay from that fall.

* * *

 

Kanan, rubbing his shoulder where he fell awkwardly, was heading back down the alley when he saw the flashing blue lights going off. Kanan's heart skipped as he had to remind his instincts that he didn’t need to run.

“Hey, you alright?” came the gruff voice of Zeb, who found the bruised Kanan.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe what happened.” Kanan began to explain to Zeb, “That kid I was telling you about, the one who pickpocketed me; it was him I just chased him.”

To Kanan’s surprise, instead of amazement, worry seemed to cover the man’s face.

“Did he get away?” Zeb asked with concern.

“Um yeah.” Kanan admitted.

“Okay good.” Zeb disclosed to his partner.

“What?” Kanan asked puzzled.

“Okay, listen to me,” Zeb instructed as he dragged Kanan by the arm, “Kallus, our boss is here to chew out Aresko and Grint. Possibly our asses too. Just tell Kallus what happened, and make sure he knows the kid got away. Okay?”

Kanan, sensing how serious Zeb was nodded his head. Zeb finally let go of Kanan, and the two made their way to the flashing blue lights next to Jho’s.

Right next to the dumpster, sure enough, was Aresko and Grint getting chewed out by a middle-sized blonde man who had to be the Kallus whom Zeb mentioned. Kanan couldn’t help but chuckle, for the man had the hugest sideburns he had ever seen. Zeb had to elbow Kanan in the rib to get him to stifle it.

“You two buffoons were supposed to go on patrols to look for criminals, and you let one get away! There are two ways down the alley, did you not realize there are two of you or were you pansies too much of wimps to go down a dark alley alone!” Kallus continued to scold them, his face, and the purple vein on his forehead showed how furious Kallus was.

After what seemed like forever of Kallus belittling the two uniformed officers, the blonde man finally turned to Zeb and Kanan.

“And you Orrelios,” Kallus called out as he pointed his finger at Zeb.

“I thought those elf ears were supposed to help your kind here well. What happened, did the ‘gorilla’ forget how to do his job.” Kallus coolly scorned

Kanan was shocked, a man that Zeb could easily break, was using racist slurs at him; what shocked him more was how Zeb only clenched his fist at his sides.

“Sir if I may interject.” Kanan finally voiced.

“Who the heck are you to ‘interject’,” Kallus questioned with skepticism.

Zeb, cleared the anger from his voice, “Sir, this is Kanan Jarrus, the new recruit Fulcrum hired today.”

Kallus let out an annoyed sigh. “What does the newbie have to say?” the man questioned.

Kanan cleared his voice a bit before he explained, “Sir, while officer Zeb aided the two in their search, he had me investigate the other alley. There I saw a young male running down the alley and I pursued him alone. I thought I could handle a child by myself. The boy went up a fire escape, I was climbing up after him when the ladder broke off. By the time I got the ladder off myself, he was gone”

Kallus tone of voice then turned professional. “Is this true Garazeb?” he asked.

“Um, yes sir” Zeb confirmed the lie, “The alley that Kanan investigate had the all dead ends. I thought the kid would have more common sense to go down the alley with no dead ends.”

Kallus seemed to ponder Zeb’s words before he smiled cunningly.

“Well Garazeb I must admit, that took some thought. Perhaps you can learn something.” Kallus ‘complimented’”

Zeb just nodded as he pierced his lips, clearly holding his tongue.

“Officer Kanan,” Kallus spoke

“Yes, sir,” Kanan responded in a professional tone.

“While your actions were a bit reckless, I must admit you came close to catching that boy then any of my officers or troopers have.” Kallus actually sound impressed with Kanan, in a cold tone but still.

“Wait, is the kid like a regular thief or something?” Kanan asked.

Kallus turned as he began inspecting the undamaged dumpster.

“Unfortunately yes.” Kallus continued to explain, “That greasy haired boy has been caught stealing from business and homes all over Capitol city and neighboring towns. That boy is a street urchin who must be taken in and brought to justice by the Empire.” Kallus seemed vivid about it.

Kallus then took a deep breath to cool himself.

“Excuse me, I must speak with the owner of the establishment.

“Aresko, Grint! Go back to actually doing your jobs” Kallus shouted at the two other men.

“Yes, sir.” The two cowardly men said in unison before going back to their cruiser and taking off. Kallus then went inside the bar.

Zeb turned to Kanan, blushing a little from embarrassment, “Thank mate. Looks like I owe you one.”

Kanan just smiled, “We’re partners, we look out for one another.” Kanan said, quoting Zeb from earlier. This caused both men to weakly smile before Kallus came back out.

“I will see you two in the morning,” Kallus told the two before he himself got into his own police car.

Kanan then turned to Zeb, “I don’t know about you, but after that, I could use a beer.”

“Same,” Zeb agreed.

“Good. Now tell me, who is that kid?” Kanan asked Zeb, who chuckled a bit at the question as they went back inside.

* * *

 

Ezra had finally reached the outskirts of the city. Ezra knew he had some ways to go before he got back to his tower, but at least no imperial police or gangs were chasing him. On the bright side, at least he could relax and walk. So with the lights of the city on his back, he made the trek back to his shelter.

A shiver crawled up the boy’s spine, with the summer season coming to an end in Lothal, Autumns cold air was coming already. Ezra could see his breath as he made his trek to the tower.

Normally he can make the five-kilometer trek in under thirty minutes. But after his run-in with the police, plus the roof jumping, he just took his tired joints in a slow stride. It was all he could do since the past two days have not been too kind to him.

After he pickpocketed Mr. Goatee, he had gone to a local store and bought some crackers and a water bottle. As he exited the store, however, officer’s broomstick and warthog spotted him and chased him for several blocks. In his hurry from the men he dropped the crackers but found shelter in one of the many condemned buildings in the city. After spending the night there, he was able to make it to his tower, only to find a few cents and half of an already eaten apple to nipple on. Ezra waited until it was dark to go dumpster diving at Jho’s.

Jho didn’t keep a lock on his dumpster like the law told him to, and sometimes Jho bagged food that customers barely ate like he had tonight. Jho was a good man, Ezra, however, knew the man was going to be in some trouble with Kallus

SWR

Inside Jho’s bar, Kanan and Zeb saw an angry Jho cursing at a piece of paper (clearly from Kallus) that had to be a ticket.

“Rotten Imperial scum.” Jho cursed as he turned to Zeb and Kanan, “I have no idea how you can stand that bucket head.”

Zeb shrugged his shoulders before he pointed out, “When you got bills to pay, you have to put up with some bullshit.” Zeb said bluntly as he tapped his hand on the counter top for some more beer.

“I got to admit Zeb, I would have killed muttonchops if he talked to me that way.” Kanan pointed out.

Zeb just shook his head a bit as he got his beer, “Kallus is a prejudiced bastard. He hates anyone who isn’t ‘the right type of human’; and to make it worse, no one can call him out on it” He explained to Kanan

Kanan knew what Zeb was talking about. All around the world, if your origins were from anywhere ‘too foreign’ then you were looked on as inferior. Not all countries were like that, but the Empire was, and there were no laws on any country that condemned the segregation.

“That’s probably why he is always targeting my bar,” Jho argued defensively, “I have the only non-segregated bar in Lothal, and he finds any excuse to fine me. I just got a fifty dollar fine for not having a lock on the dumpster.”

“A lock, on a dumpster?” Kanan questioned, finding that had to be the most idiotic reason to get a fine.

“It’s a part of Kallus’s ‘stop crime campaign.’ Kallus thinks that if the dumpsters are locked, the homeless will go somewhere else or force them to get a job. He doesn’t want to acknowledge that they either can’t get a job and or have nowhere to go.” Zeb explained pitifully.

“Is the homeless problem that bad?” Kanan asked.

Jho sighed, “It is, and it’s only getting worse. That’s why I don’t follow that law. As I see it, another man’s leftovers is another boy’s meal.”

“Is that what that kid was looking for,” Kanan asked inquiringly

Kanan noticed, that Jho and Zeb, and even some people around him fell silent.

“You met him?” Jho asked shocked.

“Kind of. But who is he?” Kanan asked, getting annoyed

Kanan noticed both men he was talking to, just turned their heads, avoiding eye contact.

“That’s kind of the thing,” Zeb finally spoke as he rubbed the back of his neck, “No one knows.

Kanan was silent. “How is that possible? If the Imperials are on his tail-,”  
“That’s the thing,” Jho voiced in, “He has been running from those imperials for quite some time. The kid’s wanted alright, but not one imperial has been able to lay a hand on him. Rumor is he’s a specter.”

A patron at the bar voiced up, “I heard the kid is from a high-class family but messes with the Empire for teenage rebelling.

An elderly man gave his opinion, “He is a vigilante, trying to protect those who cannot protect themselves from the Empire.”

A one-eyed woman voiced, “I heard the kid was raised by the dogs of Lothal and he bit a man’s arm off.”

A man smoking rasped out, “The boy is run away from a troubled family and he is taking his anger out on the Empire.

“I think, he’s a Jedi,” Zeb voiced firmly.

The whole bar went silent, staring at the Lasat man in shock.

Zeb though didn’t let them faze him, “Kid is way too fast, and way too elusive to be a normal human. He has to have the gene.”

Kanan was silent and thought of his friend’s words. It would make sense as to why he got that vibe off from that kid like there was more to him.

“So besides ‘fairy tales’, what is known about this kid,” Kanan asked

“Not a lot,” Zeb admitted, “Kid has been seen pickpocketing newbies, helping anyone the Empire is harassing, going through dumpsters and bottles, and stealing from imperial supported stores. The kid commits petty crimes, but also seems to help people. The kid is a mystery.”

“So everybody knows of the kid, but no one knows who the hell he is?” Kanan asked.

“Nope. Stories go he is a runaway, abused, a secret spy for the Empire. I know more about you then that kid, and I’ve only known you for two hours. Kallus has had the whole unit chasing him since before I got hired.” Zeb admitted as he waved for Jho to give him the check

“If that’s the case, why did you make sure he got away?” Kanan asked with a smirk in his voice, as he reached for his wallet.

Zeb smirked as well, “I should ask you the same.

Kanan had to admit, for a big brute, Zeb was smarter then he looked.

* * *

 

Finally, after the hike, Ezra made it back to his hideout. The old radio tower was beginning to rust with no maintenance being done on it for several years. The tower was showing even beginning to lean, indicating that it will soon collapse The station underneath was also showing of decay. Holes were in the wall from where vandals had shot at it for target practice, graffiti from an artist who saw the old station as a perfect landscape. Now late at night, the place remained deserted; yup, that’s what made it the perfect home for Ezra.

“I’m home,” Ezra shouted mockingly as he entered the cold lonely station, no answer was expected. The radio controls that once were his parent's workstation were covered in cobwebs in one corner, and the other corner was the rotting stairs that lead to the loft space upstairs.

Once he climbed the stairs, he made his way to the pile of mildewed blankets he deemed his bed. Once he got down onto the pile, he finally swung his backpack off to get started on his well-waited dinner.

Despite his gluttonous desire to devour everything, he only ate half the chicken wrap and the fries; he decided to save the other wrap half for tomorrow so he could have some form of breakfast.

“Crazy night,” Ezra mumbled to himself as he got up to go over his supplies. When you’re one of the most wanted by the Lothal Police, you had crazy nights; but this one took the cake.

Ezra knew that Kallus and his men hated him, but this time he hadn’t even broken or stolen anything. Ezra knew Kallus was getting more desperate to arrest him. Then again, Kallus was going to the extreme by instituting those “anti-homeless laws.” Ezra had heard the stories that Senator Tarkin was coming to Lothal to go over the “problem in Lothal”. Ezra had also heard what Tarkin does with the problems. In other unfortunate countries in the outer territory, those jobless or homeless were put under imperial arrest and brought to the Capitol in Coruscant for supposed work, though most times those brutal and even torturous jobs lead to those people to lose their little freedom, and even lose their lives.

Ezra however, needed to focus more on the present problem than possible ones. Ezra went over the bottle he had collected in the past week and smiled that he had at least five dollar’s worth to bring to the redemption center. Ezra knew he had to save up some money for not only some food but for the upcoming winter months. He needed a jacket of some sort for the harsh winter that would soon plaque Lothal. Ezra also needed to get a tarp or plywood to put over the giant hole on the roof of the station. As Ezra looked up, he could see the stars, and while they were a pretty sight to see at night, Ezra knew that soon it wasn’t practical to have a hole in the ceiling when it started to snow in Lothal.

Ezra then cunningly smiled to himself, as he knew just the place to get a tarp or at least some extra money; and the best part was, he'd be taking it from those who don’t really deserve to have it.

Soon Ezra let out a tired yawn, Ezra noticing his old rusty watch indicated it was almost eleven. So deciding to figure out a break in the plan in the morning, Ezra got onto his ‘bed’ and wrapped himself in the ratty blankets that offered some warmth for the night. Soon Ezra had drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

After Kanan and Zeb finished at the bar, Zeb offered to drive Kanan back home. The two left generous tips for Jho (mostly to pay for that fine). Heading to Zeb’s truck, Kanan admitted to Zeb what happened with the ladder and how the kid's genuine concern.

Zeb was not surprised.

“Yeah, the kid has a heart, he just seems to be in a bad lifestyle.”

“So what’s your story with the kid?” Kanan asked.

Zeb let out a big sigh before he explained, “Once upon a time, I saw the kid the same way Kallus saw him. When I first got to town, just like you, the kid took five credits from me.”

“Is that how he welcomes new people to Lothal?” Kanan questioned jokingly

“Only the lucky few.” Zeb pointed out as they got into Zeb’s rusty green truck before he continued.

“Anyways, I was so pissed. When I got on the police force, I actually agreed with Kallus that the kid was a menace. I would get close to catching him, Kallus was actually impressed with me at first.”

“Now that really surprises me,” Kanan admitted as Zeb began to drive.

“One night I’m on patrol with Kallus, we heard the kid snatched wealthy imperials whole wallet. We had him cornered in a crappy abandoned apartment building…

_Zeb had gone inside the building while Kallus was standing outside to secure the area._

_The setting sun only allowed some light to appear in the room; showing the decaying building was at that point weak wood holding the building up._

_Zeb with a gun in one hand and flashlight in the other looked around for the kid._

_“No way, you’re getting away this time you little brat,” Zeb muttered to the dark where the kid had to be hiding._

_He thought he heard the movement of the kid when he heard Kallus shout._

_“Criminal is armed, Open fire!” Kallus hollered_

_Zeb, realizing he was standing in the firing range, ducked for cover behind a pillar as the barrage of shots were showering over his head._

_“Hold your fire! Officer inside!” Zeb shouted, but his plea went unheard._

_The gunshots finally stopped when Zeb heard the creaking of the noise above him. Just as he saw the ceiling coming towards him, he felt a force ram into his side and, out of the nearby window.  As he got sat up from the attack, he saw the building falling where he once was. Wood and concrete dust clouding the air. As Zeb began coughing from the contaminated air, He saw his savior coughing up some dust as well. the very kid he was chasing._

_“You saved me?” Zeb questioned, though he already knew the answer._

_The two were silent for a moment when the voice of Kallus was heard._

_“Officer Orellios, respond,” Kallus shouted._

_Zeb knew what he had to do._

_“Kid, run.” He ordered the kid._

_The kid looked at the man surprised._

_“Well, get!” Zeb told the kid again._

_With that, the kid ran down the alley.”_

“I told Kallus the kid must have been in the building when it collapsed. Kallus got ripped on by Fulcrum for ordering shots while I was inside. He claims he thought I had gone outside, and fulcrum couldn’t prove otherwise. Since then though Kallus and Fulcrum meet every day to go over what’s going on. Kind of the reason man hates my guts. Or should I say, one of them.”

Kanan was silent for a bit as he saw the city lights past them as they left the city.

“So the kid’s a hero.”

“He’s a lot of things to people,” Zeb explained, “To imperial supporters, he is a menace, to Kallus he is scum, to a lot of locals he’s a vigilante a rebel.”

Kanan just looked out the window, “I wonder who he really is?”

“I have some theories.” Zeb pointed out before he went silent.

“Well...?”

“I guess if I had to say, my theory is the kid is abused at home.”

“Why do you say that?” Kanan questioned, hiding his concern.

Zeb explained, “at least once a week I’ll spot the kid near a store or library or near Jho’s. More often than not, I see the kid with a bruise on his face, limping, heck one time I saw his shoulder was bloody from what to be a puncture wound.”

“So you think the kid is from a rough home.”

Zeb just shrugged his shoulders, “Either that or he gets into trouble with the Imperial gangs. Like I said, it’s just a theory. Then again I’ve heard he goes to Tarkin town sometimes, I doubt a runaway would go there.”  
“Tarkintown? Like Senator Tarkin?”

“Yup, the homeless community of the unfortunate in Lothal. Hera and I go there sometimes; I’ll ask her if you can tag along.” Zeb suggested as he pulled up to Kanan’s house.

“Nah, I’ll ask her,” Kanan insisted as he got out, “I mean she is my neighbor and I’m going to have to return that dish Sabine gave me…” Kanan pointed out awkwardly.

Zeb just smiled and shook his head. “I’ll pick you up in the morning so you don’t have to worry about walking to the department.” with that Zeb rove off back to the city.

Kanan made his way inside his home.

“What a crazy night,” Kanan mumbled to himself as he watched the stars from his porch.

The whole point of coming to Lothal was to keep a low profile and get some money to move on to the next town. But he can’t leave, at least not for a while.

Lothal was a lot more corrupted then he thought it was. With the government completely under the thumb of the Empire, imperial leaders and officials were horrid to the citizens. It was no wonder Capital City was a ghetto mess. To make it worse, it seemed that Kallus did everything in his power to drive away those he deemed ‘unclean’. Kanan knew had to stay to help a little. It wasn’t that Kanan wanted to be a hero, but he had to at least help in some way. That is exactly what Depa once taught him, and what Hera reminded him of years ago.

Kanan smiled at the fact Hera was back in his life again. Kanan then became worried, he had literally left Gorse without ever telling Hera. As much as he wanted to call her, he was afraid of what she would say. What if the same thing happened all over again, what if she couldn’t forgive him for what he did. Yes, she seemed overjoyed to see him, but if Hera began to think about, Kanan was afraid she would realize being with him was a big mistake.

Kanan though was determined to win her back, and he wasn’t going to leave Lothal till he did. That was one of his reasons for not leaving.

Kanan still couldn’t get that boy out of his head. With what Zeb said, it began to make sense to Kanan. If the boy did have the force gene, it could explain how the kid was able to quickly elude him that first day, and how he was able to help get the ladder of Kanan despite the boy being mostly bone.

The Force gene heightened one’s agility along with strength if one called on it. But the possibility of the gene being in the boy wasn’t the only thing that bothered Kanan. Looking back on what conspired mere hours ago, he realized what he saw in that kid; he saw a little of himself from back when he was on the run.

“Maybe he is just as alone as I was,” Kanan muttered to himself.

Kanan decided to do some investigating on the kid. Kallus seemed to have already concluded the kid was a criminal, and Zeb was content to accept he was a mystery. Kanan though decided to figure for himself who the boy was.

As Kanan made up his mind a yawn crept out of him. Kanan knew he had to get some rest for his first official day on the job.

So with that Kanan went inside and head to bed for the night, not ready for the strange dream he would have

* * *

 

_Kanan looked around, all around him was pure darkness. The man looked around for something when suddenly he saw a bright light engulf him. Kanan closed his eyes from the intensity of the brightness. That was when he heard the sound of a child’s laughter. When he opened his eyes, he saw he was standing in a living room light by a fireplace. Again he heard the laughter, that was when he saw a young child sitting in his mother’s lap as he smiled at the storybook she was reading. The young dark-haired women smiled at what had to be her son, holding him like he was a little doll._

_Soon a tan man with dark facial hair entered the scene and picked the child up as he threw him gently into the air before hugging his child. Soon the three were in a family embrace. Kanan couldn’t help but smile at the situation._

_Suddenly the fire went out, dimming the room in darkness for a second until the police lights illuminate out their window. Both adults looked horrified, as the man went to blockade the door, the women and child went upstairs. Kanan wanted to try to help the man but found the scene around him blur out before it formed to another part of the house, which from the ladder had to be a furnished basement. Soon he saw the young woman with her child descend the ladder. The women put the terrified child on a comfy chair and began telling him something, though Kanan could not hear a word she was saying. The child nodded his head that he understood her, and with that, the women handed him a stuffed bear, kissed his forehead, and soon the women climbed up the stairs. The child began to curl up in a ball as fearful tears flooded from his eyes._

_Kanan not being able to stand a child in distress went up to the child and put a hand on his shoulders. Kanan was then stunned to find the child had noticed him, before he asked, “Hey Mister, you okay?” in the very voice of the boy that he chased that night._

Kanan woke up with a start. His heart racing as sweat accumulated his face. Kanan looked around his new bedroom as he wiped the sweat off his brow, recalling that dream.

“That is the last time I drink right before bed,” Kanan assured himself as he got a drink of water to clear his dry throat.

Still, that dream, it wasn’t like anything he ever experienced. He had experienced his own nightmares before, but this time he was sure that the nightmare he had wasn’t his own.

“Who is he?” Kanan again questioned for the seventh time that night, realizing this kid wasn’t just some nuisance he could avoid; that there was a good chance the poor kid was having the same nightmare too.

* * *

 

_The dream started off like it always did, just like that very night. Ezra’s mother was reading him a bedtime story and soon his father held him in a warm and comforting embrace. Soon bitter coldness entered the room as the fireplace went out, and the blue sirens entered Ezra’s view. Ezra’s father told his mother to take Ezra to the secret bunker. Soon Ezra’s mother brought him to the bunker and set him in the comfy chair._

_His mother told him to stay and no matter what, wait till they or Tseboo came for him. Ezra nodded his head; with that, his mother climbed up the ladder. Soon Ezra curled up in a ball like last time when he felt another presence in the room. He then felt a comforting hand on his shoulders. He immediately looked up and there was that man._

_“Are you okay?” Ezra asked as the man seemed more terrified then he did._

_As the man was about to answer though, the room went dark._

Ezra’s eyes shot open. He sat right up, panting for air. Tears were streaming down his face. Ezra had that dream many times, and it still haunted him, but this was the first time someone else was in the dream. What really freaked him out was it wasn’t that the guy was in the dream, it almost felt like he experiences it as well.

“Who is he?” Ezra asked himself for the seventh time that night. Soon though, the intense emotions from that dream were too much for him to handle, and Ezra curled up in himself he cried himself to sleep, remembering the parents he lost so many years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: So now we have a little insight of Ezra in this story, and a little of Zeb too. Hope you all like it.


	4. Daily Struggles, Friendly Bets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: let's take a look at the life and struggle of Ezra and let's see if there is anyone he trusts.

Ezra wasn’t sure if it was from the crazy night or the stress of that nightmare, but Ezra slept in quite late. By the time Ezra woke up, the sun was rising and the grass dew outside was glistening. Ezra checked his watch to see it was 7:30, that was late for him.

When Ezra finally got out of his pile of mildewed rags, goosebumps scattered his skin as the cold consumed him. Ezra immediately found his old sweatshirt and threw it on. It was still cold, but not as bad as before.

Dressed for the day, he grabbed the now cold chicken wrap from last night and ate the last of it.

Once his breakfast was gone (rather too quickly for his liking) Ezra just sat in the old station chair at the controls.

_“What am I going to do today?”_ he thought to himself as he spun in the rusty seat. Ezra had some bottles he could cash in, and with the end of the week, the trash bins would be littered with thrown out bottles. If Ezra looked hard enough, some sap will have thrown out some metal he could scrap. Heck with the end of the week, he could pick the pocket of some imperial scum who wouldn’t even notice his money was missing.

However; the problem with all those possibilities was that they all took place in the city. Ezra wasn’t stupid, and he knew Kallus and his men will be looking for him. Ezra had to keep low for a bit. But with just one bottle of water and only some mushed up crackers to eat, he questioned how long he could wait till he went back to the city.

Guess he could always forage in the fields, check his traps, heck maybe even fish.

After grabbing his water bottle and backpack, he headed out to his traps. Ezra had read a couple of books on how to set up traps to hunt with. They were nothing too fancy but if he was lucky he would catch a rabbit or squirrel sometimes. As crazy as it sounded, he actually liked squirrel meat, it was better than pickpocketing all the time.

On his way to the river, he passed three of his five traps. Nothing in the first two made Ezra disappointed, but at the last one right near the river, he got a squirrel. Ezra put it in his old burlap sack to skin and debone later. Soon Ezra got to the River.

The River of Lothal was only a couple of miles from the tower, so for Ezra, it was a peaceful stroll there, and frankly, the view… was a piece of crap.

The River was the only source of water to the city, heck it was the only River in Lothal. It was huge and had so much pollution from the city that Ezra was sure if anyone ever drank from it, they would gain a third leg and snakeskin. Lothal’s low water supply had been a problem since before the Empire took over. Most waters were imported to Lothal, which was why it was taxed so high. Ezra actually would laugh at the dried up indents of Earth that were supposedly once lakes. It seemed almost too crazy to believe Lothal’s main export was once fishery. But that was all in the past

Ezra knew there was some life that survived in the murky water. Eels, trout, rainbowfish, heck Ezra once caught a river rat one time.

Once he got to the river bank, Ezra found a spot and assembled his make-shift pole.

Despite the long wait fishing entailed, Ezra found it to be quite relaxing. No one ever came near the river, so he didn’t have to worry about anyone chasing him or giving him dirty looks. The look that asked, ‘why are you alive’. That look always made Ezra’s heart hurt, every single time.

Ezra just enjoyed the peace that the river offered. Ezra sat on the bank for over an hour before he called it quits. Ezra could just tell the fish weren’t biting in the first minute, but just wanted to enjoy the silence.

Ezra was weird like that. He could always tell if something was going to happen. But Ezra considered it as a sixth sense kind of thing. His mother would call it his ‘good gut.’

_“Damn, ”_ Ezra thought to himself in bitterness. He immediately focused on packing his pole to avoid thinking of her, of them.

Ezra then looked to the ground, he could tell by his shadow it was almost noon. If he was lucky, the squirrel would have some fat to keep his hunger at bay longer. But Ezra saw the poor creature in the sack; it was almost as skinny as he was.

As Ezra approached his tower though, he saw a cloud of yellow paint on the back side of the tower.

Ezra smiled wickedly. Quietly as he could, he put his backpack down and tiptoed towards the multi-colored haired artist.

Ezra got right behind her, ready to grab her shoulder and then-.

“Boo!” shouted Sabine as she turned around to be face to face with Ezra. She then began to laugh like a hyena as she saw Ezra’s displeased look.

“What gave me away?” Ezra asked as he thought he could finally scare the Mandalorian.

Sabine pointed to the window just above her.

Ezra's face palmed himself, he was just one reflection away.

“Hey, you’ll scare me someday,” Sabine assured Ezra as she put away her spray paint.

Ezra noticed what Sabine had been working on. It was a yellow bird flying up to the side. It looked like it was coming from a fire.

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Ezra argued off-handed as he examined the work

Sabine just smirked, “Shouldn’t you?”

Both just smiled mischievously

“So, what inspired this masterpiece?” Ezra asked curiously, always fascinated by Sabine’s talent.

Sabine just waved her hands over it, “It just came to me, it’s a phoenix coming from the ashes. It is rising up from being taken down! It will not give up! Never surrender!” Sabine was very passionate in her speech, though she only joked like this with Ezra.

“Overdramatic much,” Ezra replied, “You should be an actress.”

“Oh, ha, ha,” Sabine joked sarcastically, she then noticed the burlap sack.

“Please tell me you caught something edible,” Sabine asked with apprehension.

“Squirrel is edible,” Ezra argued fondly of his next meal, “I keep telling you, it tastes like chicken, and they are easy to catch.”

“It just isn’t right.” Sabine opinionated her disgust.

“You eat raw fish, how is sushi more edible than a squirrel.”

The two just laughed at their constant argument of what was edible.

“Oh, speaking of edible, I got something for you.”

Sabine then dug into her bag and got a Tupperware out.

Sabine smiled as she handed it to Ezra, “My mom made way too much mac and cheese for our new neighbor, so I thought you might like some.”

Ezra blushed. It wasn’t like he had taken Sabine’s offers from before. In fact, his would save him two days of hunting for food, three if he was smart. But still…, “You know you don’t have to-,”

“Yes I do,” Sabine argued as she put her hands over his as he held the container, “Besides I want to.”

Ezra smiled, Sabine was one of the only people who used his name, heck she was the only one who knew his name. Sabine didn’t look at him with the repulse, she looked at him like he was someone.

* * *

 

_Sabine’s first year in Lothal wasn’t exactly ideal. Her new school had no art, no music, heck there wasn’t even theatre. The school was a black hole of despair and broken supplies. Hera wouldn’t dare put Sabine in an all Imperial run school, not again. but the public school was really just sitting in a room for sixty minutes and reading ten pages. Needless to say, the school got boring for Sabine rather quickly._

_Her only constellation was she had Hera in her life. Hera actually listened to her and cared about her; that was more than her own birth parents ever offered. When Sabine told her new mother what school was like, she surprised Sabine by dedicating a room of their new home for Sabine to use as her art studio._

_That solved the art problem, but school was something else._

_One day in the middle of the second semester, Sabine was working on a portrait she was drawing of Hera for her birthday. It was her lunch break and she wasn’t hungry. When a teacher (whom Sabine strongly theorized was pro-empire) saw what Sabine was doing, she took her sketchbook, and ripped it up, like she was ripping the girl's heart. The teacher began to belittle her, claiming Sabine was wasting her time and talent, that art was not a suitable lifestyle, and that her work was a joke. Everyone in the cafeteria began laughing at her, so she did what any eleven-year-old girl would do; she bolted out of the school with streams of tears on her face._

_Sabine was so distraught that she didn’t even notice where she was going. She must have run for thirty minutes when she ended up in some alley near the library. When she finally realized where she was, she saw how colorless the city was. Sabine was pissed. Why did the Empire hate everything with color? The city was a hideous waste, it needed color, it needed art!_

_Sabine just sat on the alley floor, crying about how she couldn’t do anything with her art. Sabine, after wiping her tears away, she noticed a spray-can of paint. She saw the blank wall in front of her, she needed to paint something._

_So she painted a crude picture of the dick teacher form this morning, giving her devil horns and a tail._

_Sabine was starting to feel better when her heart stopped at a sudden holler,_

_“Hey, what are you doing?” Yelled an imperial trooper._

_Sabine panicked, and she bolted down the alley._

_“All available troopers, we have a vandal defacing public property on Kathol Drive, request back up!” Sabine heard the man as she sprinted._

_Sabine now was terrified. She didn’t know Lothal like Mandalore, she didn’t know where she was going, and to make it worse Hera wasn’t going to save her this time._

_Suddenly, someone yanked her into one of the condemned buildings, and before she could scream, her mouth was muffled by someone else’s hand. Sabine felt her own heart stop._

_“Shush,” whispered the voice, which Sabine recognized to be a boy’s._

_Sabine then heard the sound of the patrol troopers, racing by the building._

_“Where’d she go?” asked one trooper to the other_

_“Check the Main street, I’ll go back to see if she made a U-turn.” Ordered the other._

_Soon the pounding boots faded, and as soon as they were gone, the hand on Sabine’s mouth was removed; she understood, the mystery boy had saved her from a whole world of trouble._

_“Hey, are you okay?” Asked the boy as he got into view. Sabine didn’t notice the dirty face or smelly clothes that covered the boy, she saw his eyes that looked at her with concern, just like Hera’s did._

_“Hello?” asked the kid, snapping Sabine from her shock._

_“Umm yeah,” Sabine replied, still a little surprised by what just happened._

_“Are you sure?” asked the boy with doubt, “You look like you’ve been crying?”_

_Sabine was surprised, ‘who is he?’ she thought herself_

_Sabine though became defensive as she wiped her eyes of any tears. “What’s it to you?!” sounding harsher then she intended_

_The kid took the hint, “Hey if you don’t want to talk, it’s cool. Just thought…” The boy seemed dismayed and got up to leave._

_“Wait.” Sabine asked him, and he did, much her surprised relief, “It’s just…it’s kind of a long story.” Sabine pointed out._

_The boy sat down next to her. “I’ve got time.” The boy offered_

_Sabine smiled, then she heard the kid's stomach growl causing the boy to blush. Sabine then remembered the lunch her mom packed._

_“I’ll tell you if you take half,” Sabine offered as she handed him half her chicken wrap._

_The two sat in the abandoned place for hours, Sabine telling the boy (who introduced himself as Ezra) how she hates her school, her classmates, and how she was humiliated at school, and why she was running from the cops. As soon as she finished her rant, Ezra filled her in._

_“The Empire love to arrest people, it makes them feel better about not catching real criminals. They especially love to arrest people who supposedly ‘deface’ the town.”_

_“I think I made the alley pretty,” Sabine argued playfully._

_“I liked it,” Ezra admitted before he pointed out, “But the Empire has this law where anyone on law enforcement has to be a dick to everyone.”_

_The two laughed, Sabine liked this kid’s humor, heck she liked the kid period._

_“So, you need a place to express yourself?” Ezra asked her._

_“Well I have my studio at my house, but it not like I can paint anything big like I did in the alley.”_

_Ezra then thought for a moment._

_“If I show you a place, do you promise not to tell anyone about it.”_

_Sabine could tell the kid was serious, so she smiled and stuck her pinky to him._

_Ezra smiled and accepted it with his._

_That moment solidified more promises than they thought._

* * *

 

After that day Ezra and Sabine had kind of pact deal; Sabine could use the tower to graffiti all her art and where she could hang out when she was bored, and she would help Ezra out as much as she could without telling anyone of him.

Sabine then remembered how when she finally got home that Hera had already gotten a call from the school of what happened. Hera made sure that the teacher was fired for destroying a student’s property. But what really pleasantly surprised Sabine was instead of yelling or hitting, Hera hugged and kissed her, relieved Sabine was okay.

Sabine giggled as she recalled that day fondly.

“What’s so funny?” Ezra asked as they entered the radio room, where he kept his knife.

Sabine smiled, “Just remembering how we first met.”

Ezra smiled as well as he got the squirrel from his bag. Sabine immediately turned to avoid the skinning process.

“So, you got a new neighbor?” Ezra asked.

“Yeah, I met him, he’s cool,” Sabine admitted

“Good cause if he wasn’t,” Ezra then made a tough face as he punched one of his now bloodied hands into the other.

Sabine giggled at Ezra’s attempt to look tough

“So why did you leave school again? This makes it the fifth time this month.” Ezra asked as he continued with the deboning.

Sabine was looking at the blank space above the controls as she answered, “It’s only my last period, its law and politics and I hate the law and the politics.”

“I thought you went to that liberal public school,” Ezra asked as he reached to take care of the bone.

“I do, but the Empire’s enforcing all schools to teach laws and imperial politics. It’s part of the Emperors ‘No Ignorance Act’,” Sabine explained. Before she asked, “Can I paint something here?”

Ezra looked up to see where she was indicating, “Yeah go nuts. But shouldn’t that class be easy? The Emperor's politics are so easy; ‘do as he orders or be executed’,” Ezra said in a mocking dictator like voice.

Both kids giggled.

Sabine continued to let out her frustration out on how school was, “Besides, it’s not like there is anyone there I can hang out with.”

Ezra though interjected with concern, “But hasn’t your mom been getting calls from the school?”

Sabine sighed dismayed, “She has, several times, and she gets why I hate it; but she insists I need to know how corrupted our system really is.”

Ezra giggled a bit, “She has a point.”

Sabine then smiled, “Frankly, the school would be a lot better if you actually went to school.” Sabine argued.

Ezra pretended to be taken aback, “I do go to school, I’m part of that program at the library.” He defended.

“Yeah, but if you went to school with me, we would be the rebellious duo.” Sabine then brought up what was really bugging her, ‘You know, if you let me talk to my mom-,” Sabine began before she was interrupted

 “No!” Ezra argued as he knew where Sabine was going with this, “No, no, no!” Ezra turned his head away from her.

“Come on Ezra, do you honestly want to spend another winter outside?” Sabine argued.

Ezra then waved his hands all around the place, “This is not outside!”

“Ezra, every window has a hole and the roof is caving in,” Sabine then pointed to the ceiling that showed the sun. Sabine knew from almost five years of knowing him, that Ezra could take care of himself. But it sickened her to know Ezra was alone in the elements without anything to help him keep warm, or anyone to be there with him.

“You know if Hera knew-,” Sabine tried to begin again, pointed out that Hera has room for one more.

“I know,” Ezra admitted as he rudely interrupted Sabine again, “That’s why she can’t know.”

This was what the two would really argue about. Sabine hated the idea of her only friend in Lothal freezing and going hungry. Yeah, she helped, but sometimes Ezra would go for weeks hiding somewhere in town to avoid the police. When that happened she would find the kid starved, beaten, or bloody. Sabine worried about him, she wanted to do more than sneak some food or a blanket to the kid. Sabine wanted to offer more.

Ezra began to argue again, “Sabine, I’m wanted by the Empire. I’m the ‘Specter of Lothal’, the number one pickpocket they want to throw in jail and make an example of! If they found your mom was ‘hoarding’ me, and you guys got separated…, I could never forgive myself.”

Ezra then began to head outside to the fire pit to cook the meat.

Ezra, wanting to change subjects, noticed Sabine’s paint color choice.

“Why are you still using the yellow?” Ezra asked as he knew Sabine preferred to mix her color variety.

Sabine replied off-handed, “I’m low on spray paint.” But Sabine was adamant about continuing their argued topic.

Sabine followed him to his makeshift fireplace, “Look, I get not wanting to trust people because of being hurt before. But you trust me, to keep you and this place secret and I have for five years. We trust each other with our problems, and I trust Hera would do whatever it took to make sure the Empire would never find you. Please?”

Ezra looked at Sabine, and he could tell she was genuinely pleading with him. But he just couldn’t burden Hera and Sabine, he was too much trouble. Ezra came up with a way how to get Sabine off his back about the subject.

“I’ll tell you what; if you don’t skip anymore school to the end of the semester, I’ll let you tell Hera.” Ezra offered as he lit the fire. Ezra figured Sabine would slip up and they could put the idea behind them

“Seriously?” Sabine asked a little surprised her fellow student rebel was bribing her to go to school.

Ezra smiled as he was finishing cooking the meat, “I know I’m not the best influence when it comes to school, but you really should go. If not to learn, then to keep your mom happy. I may not know her, but if I was her, I would worry about where you are when you aren’t in school.”

Sabine never really thought about it like that. Yeah Hera would ask where she was, but she could never say without breaking her promise, so she would say she was at the library, and Hera knew she was lying, so she would give Sabine extra chores (Hera never really believed in grounding). Still, Sabine hated the idea of worrying Hera. Besides, it would be nice for Hera to not have the school harass her while she was at work.

“So what do you say?” Ezra asked as he held up his pinky.

Sabine smiled and took his pinky with hers. If going through the torture that was her last period of school was what it took to get Ezra a home, she would do it. That’s what friends did.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Maybe I’m crazy for making Sabine and Ezra secret friends in this AU series, but I thought it would make sense since the two are so close in age in the canon series. I hope you all liked this chapter


End file.
